Homelessness inquiry hui heads to Kaitaia

The public hearing of the cross-party inquiry into homelessness will take place in Kaitaia tomorrow. It was launched by Labour, Green and Māori parties after National MPs turned down opposition requests for a parliamentary select committee inquiry into the issue.

The Hearings panel will be listening to some of the stories of the hundreds of homeless people, those who once lived on the streets, those working with the homeless and concerned members of the public who made submissions to the cross-party inquiry into homelessness.

Last Monday, the first inquiry took place at Te Puia Marae in Auckland where chairman Hurimoana Dennis presented a submission.

He said, “We need to understand what the homeless problem is, how big it is, where it is and to relate it to causative issues. If we don’t know what the problem is we run the risk of throwing resources into the wrong place and into the wrong direction.”

The aim of the inquiry is to hear from whānau, experts and those affected by homelessness in New Zealand.